Gimmie! | Building your Maralen, FAe Ascendant Commander Deck

Maralen, Fae Ascendant is a Sultai Commander that blends tribal synergy, library disruption, and free spell casting into one very tempting package. She rewards you for playing Elves and Faeries by exiling cards from opponents’ libraries, then lets you cast those cards yourself, based on your board state, without paying their mana costs.

Every Elf or Faerie that enters pushes opponents closer to running out of options, while quietly expanding your own. This is not your traditional mill, and it is not pure theft either. It lives in that sweet Commander space where value builds slowly and then suddenly feels overwhelming.

Why Maralen Is Fun to Play

Maralen shines because she makes games feel different every time and is extremely beginner-friendly. You are not tutoring the same combo pieces or following a rigid script. You are reacting to what gets exiled and deciding how to use it best. It's almost like having in-game access to an ever-changing sideboard that builds up each game.

Sultai colors do a lot of work here. Green gives you creature density and ramp, blue protects your engine and controls the stack, and black keeps opponents honest with removal and recursion. The result is a deck that feels interactive without being extremely miserable to play against.

It also scratches that tribal itch. Elves give you speed and mana, Faeries give you an evasive board, and Maralen ties them together into one cohesive plan.

The Core Game Plan

Maralen decks win by momentum, not explosiveness. You build, disrupt, and slowly turn the table’s resources into your advantage.

Early Game Strategy

Early turns are all about developing your board. Cheap Elves and Faeries matter more than flashy effects at this stage. One and two mana creatures let you start exiling cards as soon as Maralen hits the table.

Your early goals are:

• Establish a steady flow of tribal creatures. Llanowar Elves is your guy.

• Get Maralen onto the battlefield safely

• Begin exiling cards to limit opponents’ future draws

  
  

You do not need to rush using Maralen’s free cast ability yet. Focus on growing your creature count so those free spells actually matter later.

Mid Game Strategy

This is where Maralen starts feeling powerful.

By the mid-game, you should have enough Elves and Faeries to cast meaningful spells from exile once each turn. This is also when smart targeting becomes important. Exiling combo players or control decks at the right time can completely change the direction of the game. Counterspell, Deadly Rollick, An Offer You Can't Refuse. All of them work in this build.

Mid-game is also where protection matters most. Countermagic, bounce spells, and spot removal help keep Maralen alive while your board continues to scale.

Late Game Strategy

Late-game, Maralen wins through inevitability.

You likely have:

• A wide board of evasive creatures

• Access to free spells every turn

• Opponents struggling to find answers

At this point, you can close games through combat, anthem effects, or simply by out-valuing everyone at the table. Casting your opponents’ best cards while they topdeck lands is a very real way to end games.

Five Must-Include Cards

Bitterbloom Bearer

Bitterbloom Bearer is a natural extension of the deck’s core engine. Flash and flying make it easy to deploy without telegraphing your plan, and its upkeep trigger mirrors Bitterblossom almost exactly.

Yes, you lose life, but the steady stream of Faerie tokens is worth it. Those tokens fuel Maralen every turn, pad your creature count for free spells, and keep pressure on opponents even when the board stalls. In games where Bitterblossom gets answered, Bearer often steps in as a reliable backup.

Alela, Cunning Conqueror

Alela rewards you for doing things you already want to do. Playing interaction, holding up mana, and disrupting opponents all translate into Faerie tokens. Those tokens immediately fuel Maralen’s exile engine while also building an evasive board presence.

What really makes Alela shine here is how she bridges offense and defense. You never feel punished for leaving mana open, and over a few turns, she quietly floods the board while opponents are busy dealing with bigger threats.

Bitterblossom

Bitterblossom is the backbone of the deck. One Faerie every upkeep means consistent exile triggers without spending mana or cards. That steady pace is exactly what Maralen needs to function smoothly.

The life loss is mostly irrelevant in a deck that plans to control the flow of the game and pressure opponents early. Left unanswered, Bitterblossom ensures Maralen always has fuel, even after board wipes or removal-heavy games.

Scion of Oona

Scion of Oona does three important things at once. It boosts your Faeries, gives them shroud, and can be deployed at instant speed. That combination is incredibly hard for opponents to play around.

The anthem effect turns your token army into a real clock, while shroud protects your board from targeted removal. Flash lets you hold up interaction and still advance your board if nothing needs answering. Scion often looks innocent until combat math suddenly becomes very unfavorable for the table.

High Fae Trickster

High Fae Trickster fits Maralen’s plan almost too well. Flash allows you to add Faeries on opponents’ turns, which means more exile triggers without tapping out on your own. That flexibility matters when your commander only gives you one free spell per turn. Trickster also keeps your board state hard to read, forcing opponents to play cautiously around open mana.

In a deck that rewards patience and timing, this card consistently overperforms.

Is a Maralen, Fae Ascendant Commander Deck Right for You?

Maralen works best when the deck stays focused. You want efficient creatures, steady pressure, and just enough interaction to protect your commander and disrupt opponents.

Sultai colors elevate her from a gimmick into a consistent strategy. Green ensures you always have bodies, blue keeps your plan safe, and black turns disruption into advantage.

You can build around repeating triggers to boost effectiveness, lean heavily into tribal, and pepper in removal, and you have a deck that can take on almost any opponent. This makes Maralen very beginner-friendly but a treat for long-time players as well.